1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sensing data reading devices and methods, and more particularly, to a sensing data reading device and method applied to various operating systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Regarding the operation principle of computers, hardware executes the computers, whereas software includes an operating system kernel, an operating system (OS), and applications. The operating system kernel controls hardware to operate well, for example, allowing the CPU to receive commands, and rendering the hard disk drive accessible. The operating system allows program developers to develop applications on the operating system kernel equipped with a driver. The applications enhance the ease of communication between the operating system kernel and an user, for example, by means of a text command mode and a graphic mode.
Portable electronic devices, which include a wide variety of notebook computers and smartphones, are indispensable to people's daily life nowadays. Conventionally, the portable electronic devices operate mostly on Microsoft's Windows operating system, though Linux-based Android operating system is becoming more popular. The performance of aforesaid two operating systems varies, depending on the task they are handling. To combine their advantages, the aforesaid two operating systems are integrated into a single electronic device.
For instance, Taiwan Patent Application 101134871 discloses a method sharing a peripheral device by dual operating systems and an electronic device applied to the method. Referring to FIG. 1 and the specification, page 4, lines 15-21 of Taiwan Patent Application 101134871, an electronic device 100 comprises a first operating system 110, a second operating system 120, a controller 130 and a peripheral device 140. The controller 130 is a standalone embedded controller (EC) connected to the two operating systems 110, 120 and the peripheral device 140 and adapted to control the peripheral devices 140 in accordance with commands issued by the two operating systems 110, 120, respectively.
In an ideal embodiment, a first synchronization manager 112 and a second synchronization manager 122 operate on the first operating system 110 and the second operating system 120, respectively. The two synchronization managers 112, 122 are dedicated to orchestrating the switching between the two operating systems 110, 120 so as to facilitate information synchronization there between. The two synchronization managers 112, 122 are each connected to the controller 130 and are connected to each other by a transmission interface 150.
As indicated above, with the first and second synchronization managers 112, 122 being capable of orchestrating the switching between the first operating system 110 and the second operating system 120, the first operating system 110 issues a command to the controller 130 as soon as the electronic device 100 switches to the first operating system 110, thereby driving the controller 130 to control the peripheral devices 140.
However, according to Taiwan Patent Application 101134871, the controller 130 cannot control the peripheral devices 140 without the first synchronization manager 112 and the second synchronization manager 122. As a result, the first synchronization manager 112 and the second synchronization manager 122 require a switch circuit, thereby adding to circuit complexity and costs.
Accordingly, it is imperative to solve the aforesaid problems by putting forth a novel sensing data reading device and method which dispense with a switch circuit so as to simplify circuit and save circuit area.